New homes no haven for China child lead victims

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese villagers who were moved away from a lead and zinc smelter that locals say poisoned hundreds of children may still be at risk in their new homes and experts will test the site for the heavy metal, state media said.

Protesters on Monday broke into the plant that they blame for making more than 600 children sick, smashing trucks and tearing down fences, but police eventually dispersed them peacefully.

The smelter, in northwestern Shaanxi province, opened in 2006 and residents living within 500 metres (1,640 ft) were supposed to have been relocated by this year.

The official Xinhua news agency said operations were suspended on Aug. 6 after news of the poisoning spread, yet it may reopen.

"Now we've closed down the plant, we won't allow it to open again until it has been proven it will not harm villagers," Xinhua quoted Dai Zhengshe, mayor of the nearby city of Baoji, as saying.

Protests against pollution are increasingly common in China, although the police normally try and nip them in the bud before they become violent. In other cases, officials show up and mollify residents with promises of financial or other aid.

So far only around a quarter of villagers have new homes in a settlement around 1.3 km (0.9 miles) from the factory, and even they may not be safe. Experts will test the site this week, the China Daily said on Tuesday.

Villagers who moved homes say tests on 30 children in the new area showed two-thirds had excessive lead levels in their blood, and at least one had been admitted to hospital.

"Its not safe here," parent Zhang Yongxiang told the paper. "Its not appropriate to move the rest of the families."

A child who swallows large amounts of lead may develop anaemia, muscle weakness and brain damage. Where poisoning occurs, it is usually gradual.

China's pollution and lax product safety standards have long been a source of tension and unrest, particularly when residents of pollution hotspots - dubbed "cancer villages" because of high disease rates - feel they are being ignored.

The 100,000-tonne plant suspected of causing the poisoning is run by China's fourth-biggest zinc producer, Dongling Group.

A company source told Reuters it had been shut for repairs since late July.

Dongling runs two other zinc lines in a separate area of Shaanxi, with combined annual capacity of 150,000 tonnes.